Real-life MMD: Secret Santa standoff
Comments
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Suggest it is a challenge to get the best you can for £15 (with receipts!) then you'll win :-)MSE aim: more thanks than posts :j0
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I would go a step further. I would say that due to comments last year I will again be sticking to the limit they suggest (which itself is plenty high enough for office buddies imho, especially catty ones < don't tell them that bit).
However, amongst themselves, the sky is the limit, and you look forward to seeing what they come up with this year.
PS - does this mean they intend to spend more than £15 on you?0 -
So wait there a sec..... It's SECRET Santa the limit is £15.
How do they know what you spent?
There is no way I would spend more than £15. To be honest I wouldn't even want to spend that much!
I would tell them to shove it. I would no longer participate in buying presents for people who are NOT my friends.0 -
In our office it's co-ordinated by our lovely HR lady who sends out an email asking for everyone to confirm if they are participating or not. We have a range of staff from youngsters starting out to older, more comfortably off people. We all appreciate that people have very different budgets, so set a £10 maximum limit and ask people to stick to it.
Canny shoppers will often put together a small package that might just come in under £10 but nobody minds and nobody knows who has bought for whom. The fun is trying to buy something that fits the personality of who you are buying for.
Quite frankly I would tell the others that secret santa is supposed to be that - £15 is too high and it should be optional. Nobody should be made to feel bad - that is actually bullying and your HR person should be on to it!0 -
£15 is a lot for an office secret santa - I would definitely stick to the budget.
In our office we only spend a fiver and the idea is to buy something as daft or funny as possible. We then turn it into a game - everyone pulls out a number, ie 1 to whatever (hoping for as high a number as possible). No 1 picks out a gift and opens it. No 2 then picks out a gift - but if he/she doesn't like it, they can opt to swap with No 1. No 3 can choose between what they pick out or swapping with 2 or 3 etc etc. And no-one can refuse to swap a gift.
Hard to explain clearly but it causes great hilarity and everyone has fun which is the sole purpose. And no-one is left with an expensive gift that'll sit in the back of the cupboard unused.0 -
I organise the Secret Santa in my office. Our limit is £5 and I use an online name generator which means I don't know who is getting who a gift. You can set this so they don't get the same person as last year.
Our aim is to get something that fits their recipients personality and to have a laugh when it is opened. It is not about how much you spend, it is about how well you know the person and getting them an apt gift.
To the OP, I would offer to organise the Secret Santa yourself and set new rules with a lower spending limit. It seems your colleagues have forgotten what Secret Santa is about.0 -
£15 is quite high for an office secret Santa so no I don't think you should overspend. If that's the limit set then more fool them for overspending. Stick to your guns and don't forget it's supposed to be secret so they shouldn't know what you bought anyway!0
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I hate secret Santa. For me it's a form of bullying particularly when you're hard up. Refuse to join in if you can't afford it. £15 is a ridiculously high amount. You might also find that many of your colleagues feel the same way.0
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'By implying that I am a cheapskate last year - you confirmed two things. One - that this is not secret. Two - that this is a popularity contest. So it seems pointless participating in a secret Santa with an upper limit where it's not secret, there is no upper limit and the ethos of Santa is most definitely not being demonstrated. Thanks for asking though.
However, if you want a proper secret Santa then I'm happy to organise it - after all, if I'm not participating then I've got no need to tell people who has given what, do I?'If you haven't got it - please don't flaunt it. TIA.0 -
My colleague and I have decided not to take part in SS this year - and it's only a fiver limit! We work in a large office just don't want to spend a fiver on someone we barely know!
Stick the the £15 limit and tell a white lie about how much it cost if you're pressed for a figure. You can gete something really nice for that price. Maybe even try for less
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